1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skateboard which is manually powered.
2. Discussion of the Background
Unpowered skateboards rely for their movement on the user pushing against the ground with one foot, and/or the force of gravity when the skateboard is used on a sloping surface. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 531,698, it is disclosed a skateboard which can be driven by the user on a level surface, i.e. without the aid of gravity, with both of the user's feet on the board. In the above-referenced application, a skateboard is designed to have a manually powered drive means for a driven wheel thereof, comprising a drive wheel coaxial with a rear hub member mounting said driven wheel and connected thereto through a one-way clutch, a flexible tension element wound on said drive wheel and pullable by a user to rotate the drive wheel and thereby to drive said driven wheel, and spring means acting on the drive wheel to wind up the tension element. Adjacent said hub member, a brake shoe is disposed for braking said hub member, A brake operating lever pivotally mounted under the skateboard platform at the front thereof and having one end operatively connected to said brake shoe and another end extending above the front end of the platform and formed as a pedal engageable by a user's foot. Such a skateboard has a disadvantage in that whenever braking is needed, the pressing action of the user's foot on the pedal located at the far front end of the platform will undesirably cause the user's body to tilt forward. Especially when the skateboard is abruptly braked, the user is liable to slip off due to the difficulty in immediately restoring the body in balance. Therefore, an amelioration made on the above-referenced skateboard is attempted.